[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 134 (Friday, July 12, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 57165]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-15278]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs

Bureau of Land Management

[BLM_NM_FRN_MO4500178179]


Termination of Preparation of the Environmental Impact Statement 
for the Farmington Mancos-Gallup Resource Management Plan Amendment, 
New Mexico

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management; Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of termination.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Bureau of Indian 
Affairs (BIA) are terminating the preparation of an environmental 
impact statement (EIS) for the Farmington Mancos-Gallup Resource 
Management Plan (RMP) Amendment.

DATES: The EIS development process for the Farmington Mancos-Gallup RMP 
Amendment is terminated immediately.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: BLM Farmington Field Office Project 
Manager Sarah Scott, [email protected], 505-564-7689 or BIA Navajo Region 
Office Regional Archeologist/Project Manager Robert Begay, 
[email protected], 505-863-8515. Individuals in the United States 
who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability 
may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications 
relay services for contacting Ms. Scott or Mr. Begay. Individuals 
outside the United States should use the relay services offered within 
their country to make international calls to the point-of-contact in 
the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969, as implemented by the Council on Environmental 
Quality regulations, the BLM announced its intent to prepare an RMP 
Amendment and associated EIS on February 25, 2014 (79 FR 10548). On 
October 21, 2016, the BLM and the BIA published an amended Notice of 
Intent in the Federal Register announcing the addition of the BIA as a 
joint/co-lead agency for the EIS (81 FR 72819). The purpose of the EIS 
was to analyze the impacts of additional oil and gas development within 
the San Juan Basin in northwestern New Mexico, as well as decisions 
related to lands and realty, BLM-managed lands with wilderness 
characteristics, and vegetation management. The EIS was also to 
evaluate alternatives and issues related to the BIA's authority over 
mineral leasing and associated activity decisions on Navajo Tribal 
Trust Lands and Navajo Indian allotments. The Notice of Availability 
for the Draft EIS published in the Federal Register on February 28, 
2020 (85 FR 12012). The bureaus distributed the Draft EIS to various 
Federal, State, and local agencies, elected officials, special interest 
groups, interested individuals, and the media. Due to the COVID-19 
pandemic and restrictions placed on in-person meetings, virtual public 
hearings were held on May 14, 15, 16, and 18, 2020, as well as on 
August 26, 27, 28, and 29, 2020. Since the initial publication of the 
Notices of Intent in 2014 and 2016, and the publication of the draft 
RMP Amendment and EIS in 2020, there have been many changes relevant to 
the plan amendment and associated EIS, such as a change in the 
development trends in the San Juan Basin; the withdrawal of 336,404 
acres from mineral entry around the Chaco Culture National Historical 
Park; the preparation of BIA-funded ethnographic studies for the 
region; the establishment of the Honoring Chaco Initiative; and an 
increase in outdoor recreation in the region. Given these changes and 
the extent of revisions necessary to address these changes in the 
current EIS process, the agencies determined it is impractical to 
continue the plan amendment effort as currently structured. Therefore, 
the BLM and BIA hereby terminate preparation of the EIS for the RMP 
Amendment.

(Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10)

Melanie G. Barnes,
BLM New Mexico State Director,
Deborah S. Shirley,
Acting BIA Navajo Region Director.
[FR Doc. 2024-15278 Filed 7-11-24; 8:45 am]
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